Is it possible to break the bottom of your foot

In some cases, your foot may feel as though it has a bruise. This may be because the broken blood vessels lie deeper under the skin or because your skin is thick, camouflaging the pooled blood. Your heel pad takes the brunt of the impact when your foot lands after moving forward. The bruising often results from repetitive, forceful heel strikes. These can occur while playing basketball or volleyball, or running or tackling the long jump in track and field competitions.

People who do a lot of marching, such as musicians in a marching band or people in the military, are also at higher risk. Part of the normal aging process is the thinning of skin and the loss of collagen and fat deposits throughout the body.

Have you ever noticed a thinning in the face in older people? The same goes with the fatty pads on the heel and ball of the foot. This makes the sole more prone to bruising. Without proper protection, a pointy rock, sharp stick, or other debris can easily damage soft tissue and create a bruise.

An injury severe enough to damage a bone is also severe enough to break the blood vessels under the skin and cause bruising. Depending on where the injury is, you can experience bruising on the bottom of the foot. This condition, also known as a stone bruise , is generally caused by a change in the way you walk.

The toes may also be numb or tingly. You may also have bruising on the ball of the foot. Plantar fasciitis is a common cause of heel pain that occurs when the plantar fascia becomes injured and inflamed. The plantar fascia is the tough, fibrous band that connects the toes to the heel bone. This is more common in athletes due to repetitive, forceful movements in sports. Named after a 19th century French surgeon, a Lisfranc injury occurs when the bones or ligaments of the midfoot are broken or torn.

The midfoot is important for stabilizing the arch. This injury often occurs following a slip and fall. Medications, such as the blood thinners warfarin Coumadin or rivaroxaban, make it easier to bruise areas of the body. The precise location of your pain can help determine its cause. They may move your foot into different positions, to check your range of motion. You may be asked to walk for a short distance so that your doctor can examine your gait. If your signs and symptoms suggest a break or fracture, your doctor may suggest one or more of the following imaging tests.

Treatments for a broken foot will vary, depending on which bone has been broken and the severity of the injury. Your doctor may recommend an over-the-counter pain reliever, such as acetaminophen Tylenol, others.

A physical therapist can teach you exercises to improve your flexibility and strength. However, several small stress fractures can develop around the same area, over time. Metatarsal fractures of both types occur more easily if the metatarsal bones are weakened due to 'thinning' of the bones osteoporosis. See the separate leaflet called Osteoporosis for more detail. Most metatarsal fractures occur in younger people, as they are more likely to be involved in the kinds of sports and marching activities that make them more likely.

However, as we become older the 'springiness' and padding of our feet tend to reduce. This means that our feet absorb impact less well and it is easier to fracture bones. Supportive footwear will make this much less likely. See the separate leaflet called Ageing Feet for more detail.

People sometimes say that it isn't possible to walk on a broken foot but this is not correct. Whether you can walk on a broken foot depends on which bone is broken and whereabouts along its length , whether the fracture is displaced, how supportive your shoes are, and your personal tolerance to pain.

It is, therefore, possible to walk on a broken foot, although it is likely to be very uncomfortable to do so and it may well make matters worse if you do. People who have stress fractures may continue to walk for some time. Eventually this becomes increasingly painful, as the splits in the bone tend to worsen and the bone itself starts to react and become inflamed, and it can become impossible to weight bear.

A metatarsal stress fracture can progress to become a full-thickness fracture. Metatarsal stress fractures can begin as very small injuries which do not cause severe pain. However, if you carry on stressing the bone, the crack will often deepen and widen, becoming gradually more painful. Eventually, in the worst case scenario, the stress fracture may progress to become a full fracture.

If you have an acute fracture and you continue to stress the bone, the pain will increase further as the broken ends of bone will start to rub slightly against one another, and the area will become inflamed. In the worst case scenario the fracture may become displaced. You should seek medical advice if you suspect that you have a metatarsal fracture. A doctor is able to do tests, including imaging, which will suggest the best course of action - not only to make things better as quickly as possible, but also to prevent making things worse.

Painkillers such as paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen which may help to relieve pain. Applying ice to your foot can also be helpful as pain relief. Ice should be applied as soon as possible after injury, for minutes. Less than 10 minutes has little effect. More than 30 minutes may damage the skin. Make an ice pack by wrapping ice cubes in a plastic bag or towel, or by using a bag of frozen peas.

Do not put ice directly next to skin, as it may cause ice burn. Gently press the ice pack on to the injured part. The cold is thought to reduce blood flow to the damaged area. This may limit pain, inflammation and bruising. Some doctors recommend re-applying for 15 minutes every two hours during daytime for the first hours. Do not leave ice on while asleep. See the separate leaflet called Heat and Ice Treatment for Pain for more details.